Alternative economies on the Swiss restaurant industry

Christine Demen Meier, EHL
Partenaire financier: Saviva

This project explores the impact of «alternative economies» on the Swiss restaurant industry. It conducts a series of interviews with professionals in the restaurant industry and other businesses – both Swiss and international – as well as with academics. Little is known about this topic.

This study into «alternative economies» refers to two types of businesses: those that belong to the sharing/collaborative economy (these two terms are used interchangeably), and Uber-like businesses.The difference between the two lies primarily in market orientation (for-profit vs. non-profit) and market structure (P2P vs. B2C).

The interviewees are asked about their experience, activities and expertise; their perceptions of alternative economies and their views about this field; as well as their vision of the foodservice industry, and of customer behaviour and expectations.